Outdoor Sulcata dog house bedding question

[Becky7_RN]

We recently adopted a 7 year old Sulcata and we made him his own outdoor enclosure: a dog house with a heating element and a burrow. He LOVES his burrow but I know we are going to have to close it off once it starts getting cooler at night. We are in Southern California so it doesn’t get super cold but feel like his heated house would be better. Do I need to put anything inside his dog house for bedding? I’ve read conflicting things so wanted to see what was recommended here 😊
Any tips for outdoor Sulcata’s would be appreciated. Thank you 😊

 

[ZEROPILOT]

Do a forum search of @Tom for heated night houses.
He's our go-to guy for ideas and he's in California and has Sulcata

And WELCOME!

 

[vladimir]

Here's an example of what you want: https://tortoiseforum.org/threads/single-tortoise-night-box.181515/

 

[Tom]

We recently adopted a 7 year old Sulcata and we made him his own outdoor enclosure: a dog house with a heating element and a burrow. He LOVES his burrow but I know we are going to have to close it off once it starts getting cooler at night. We are in Southern California so it doesn’t get super cold but feel like his heated house would be better. Do I need to put anything inside his dog house for bedding? I’ve read conflicting things so wanted to see what was recommended here 😊
Any tips for outdoor Sulcata’s would be appreciated. Thank you 😊

Let me start with: Hello and welcome!

Now the bad news... Dog houses don't work. I've tried many times many ways. Lots of other people have tried many times, many ways. They are designed for dogs and what works for dogs doesn't work for tortoises. You will need to build one, or have one built for you, and we will help you.

Many people learn this lesson the hard way. I've seen so many of them die because of people trying to use a dog house. And usually they get sick and have hundreds or thousands of dollars in vet bills, and then die anyway, because the CAUSE of the sickness was never addressed and corrected.

Burrows are great for your area in summer, but in winter your new tortoise is going to need a properly insulated and heated shelter. Nights are already getting too cold, so its time to block off the burrow entrance when he's above ground. I use a sheet of plywood with cinder blocks around the edges.

Set your night box thermostat to 80-82 in spring and fall with warm sunny days, and set it to 86 in winter. I unplug it while they are using the burrow in summer.

Here is another example of a night box that works, and I have a CAD exploded view as well as a parts list if you want them:

Double Door Night Box

As the years have gone by and I build more of these boxes, I learn more and more each time. This one is the latest and I incorporated everything I've learned over the years. I also tried to take lots of pics so I can explain in more detail some of what is going on. It will take multiple posts to...

tortoiseforum.org

Questions are welcome.